


Play the Cards

by glitchingsword



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Acxa & Keith (Voltron) are Twins, Acxa & Shiro (Voltron) are Half-Siblings, Acxa and Ezor are soulmates, Canon Divergent, Canon Universe, F/F, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Keith & Shiro (Voltron) are Half-Siblings, Little bit of smut, M/M, Original Character(s), Pining, Slow Burn, Soki and Keith and Acxa and Shiro and Krolia are one big weird family, Useless Gays, Voltron season 7 rewrite, Voltron season 8 rewrite, fite me, half-galra Keith Acxa and Soki, her name is Soki Kogane
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-18
Updated: 2019-06-16
Packaged: 2019-10-12 09:34:25
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 8
Words: 11,079
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17465000
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/glitchingsword/pseuds/glitchingsword
Summary: After the demise of the Castle of Lions, the Paladins and crew find themselves stuck on an alien planet with no power in their Lions and one of their own in a coma.When chaos and light mix, all you can do is play the cards.





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first Voltron fic and my first fic on Ao3, so please forgive me if I missed anything!
> 
> I like to think that in this Voltron canon, we treat characters nicely and give them proper story arcs. 
> 
> Anyways, enjoy!

“Hold on!”

Acxa never thought Ezor could sound so desperate. The normally peppy woman was scared, screaming, and holding on by just a hand.

If Acxa had been under the impression that she knew fear before, she had been misled. 

The world spun and Acxa felt for a second that this would be the end of her and her closest living friends. 

But it was not to be. A lion of Voltron came into view, and with one last push of her biothrusters, Acxa managed to grasp onto the top of the Lion’s metallic mane, taking Ezor and Zethrid with her. 

As the ship entered orbit, she had one thought: 

_what will mom think?_


	2. A Little Adventure

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Paladins find themselves on a planet with no hope of rescue and one too many mouths to feed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In this rewrite, we don't have that weird three-year timeskip. Instead, Sendak begins his attack at about the same time the Paladins get lost in space (about six months after they leave the moon where they get shrunk) and the Garrison only has about a year to prepare from when Sam returns to when Sendak attacks.
> 
> Timeline:  
> Year 1: Kerberos mission planned, Shiro and Adam fight. 
> 
> Year 2: Shiro, Matt and Sam are on Kerberos and are abducted.
> 
> Year 3: Shiro returns, Paladins leave Earth. Seasons 1-4. 
> 
> Year 4: Pidge, Matt and Sam reunite. Sam returns to Earth. Season 5.
> 
> Year 4.5: Castle of Lions explodes. Lotor "dies". Paladins depart from outpost moon with Acxa and company. Season 6.
> 
> Year 5: Earth is attacked by Sendak. Season 7.
> 
> Year 5.75: Paladins return to Earth. Season 7.
> 
> Year 6.25: Paladins and IGF-ATLAS depart from Earth. Season 8.
> 
> Hope that makes sense. 
> 
> Enjoy!

The Paladins never thought they would end up here. 

Their Castleship gone, the lions powerless, with minimal supplies and more people than they could feed. One of their own gravely injured, and tensions high among the group. 

“So, are we going to talk about what we need to do?” Keith’s voice rang out from his position next to the Black Lion. Three masked figures sat unbound next to him, much to the other Paladins’ chagrin. Shiro’s unconscious body lay in a healing pod, with Allura and Krolia keeping a close eye on him. 

“I suppose we will have to think of a way to power the Lions,” said Coran with a twirl of his mustache. “There is a certain type of quintessence that exists on planets like this that can be used as a power source for the Lions. All we need to do is find a pack of Yalmors, and they should lead us right to it!”

“Alright then. Allura, Krolia and I will stay behind with … with Acxa and her crew. The rest of you, go with Coran to find the power source.” The Paladins and Romelle moved to follow Coran, with Pidge shooting a dirty look in Acxa’s general direction and Lance leaving behind a worried one that burned into Keith’s mind. 

Once the others departed, an uneasy silence fell over their campsite. Allura moved to push Shiro’s pod inside the Black Lion, and Zethrid took her helmet off to go help her. The other masked figure moved to leave, but Acxa turned to her and said, “Stay.”

Krolia stepped forward. 

“Acxa? Is it really you?” Krolia’s face looked to be on the verge of tears, emotion threatening to overstep its carefully guarded bounds. Acxa stood. 

“Hi, mom.” In one fluid motion she took off her helmet, revealing a swatch of blue hair in a swoop to the right side of her face. Her icy blue skin reflected the light of the campfire, and her purple-gray eyes, the same shade as Keith’s, were brimming with tears. In two swift strides she moved to Krolia, who began to cry quietly into her daughter’s shoulder. As somewhat of an afterthought, Keith joined their embrace as the three were finally reunited. 

“Where were you? I thought you were dead, I-I …” Acxa stammered. “They shot you! You died! Soki and I ran like hell and …” She paused to wipe the tears from her eyes. 

“I think they staged it,” Krolia said quietly. “I thought you and Soki were dead and I could not bear to live with it. I escaped their prison and rejoined the Blade, where I used a false name to reenlist in the army.” The three stood in silence for a minute, processing the weight of the explanation. “Where … where is Soki?”

Acxa’s voice dipped into a whisper. “I don’t know. Alive, I know that much. Her tracker pendant still registers her heart rate.” Krolia fell silent, and the masked figure stood up to take Acxa’s hand. Finally, Keith spoke up.

“Okay. I can get behind my mom and my long-lost sister reuiniting and making us three-fifths of a family again, but who are you?” His outstretched finger pointed to the masked figure, shaking lightly as he processed the news. 

The figure moved to press a button on the back of her helmet, removing it much the same way Acxa had. 

She stood half a head taller than Acxa, with bright pink skin and a diamond-shaped yellow mark in the center of her forehead. Two purple points extended from the sides, and a prehensile appendage sprouted from her head.

It was one of Lotor’s other generals, the one who almost bested Lance. 

“Mom, Keith, this is Ezor. My bondmate.” Acxa put her hand on her lover’s shoulder, and Ezor reached out to shake Krolia’s hand. 

“Bondmate? Acxa? What … when?” Krolia still held Ezor’s hand, looking in awe at the ring-shaped mark that resided there. Keith smiled. 

“About a year ago. It’s a long story, but uh-” Acxa paused as the four heard a yell. 

“I hate to interrupt, guys, but the man in there’s got a problem!” Zethrid’s booming voice carried from the entrance to the Black Lion. 

“Oh god!” Keith, Acxa, Krolia and Ezor followed her inside, slipping into the cool darkness.

_________

“How much longer is this going to take? We’ve been walking for almost an hour.” Lance’s tired voice rang out through the desolate group. 

“Not much farther, young one! These Yalmor tracks are fresh and they are getting fresher!” Coran, cheery as ever, called out this update from the front of the line. Hunk and Romelle were chatting, Pidge was on her phone and Lance was bored out of his mind. 

Also, trying his hardest not to think about Keith. 

It wasn’t his fault the man was so damn attractive when he was angry, okay? Lance’s bisexual heart couldn’t take it. And after so long without seeing him, Lance wanted nothing more in the world than to spend time with Keith. 

However, Keith was busy. With Shiro in a coma and the return of his long-lost mother and sister, the leader of Voltron no doubt had his thoughts elsewhere. 

Plus, there was no way Keith felt … never mind. 

Anyways, Lance was tired. Tired of lying, tired of pining, tired of surprises and tired of blows to the back. 

So when a creature that Lance thought could be a Yalmor sprayed him and the rest of the group and shrunk them, Lance just couldn’t find the energy to be surprised. 

After all, he was pretty much the biggest fuck-up in the galaxy at this point, right?

_________

Shiro woke in a dream. He knew it was a dream, because it looked exactly like the day his life finally looked like it might be good. 

It was the day he met Adam. 

Fresh out of Platt City junior high, top of his class, it was hard to admit that Shiro felt totally alone. 

Sure, he had a few friends, and most kids were friendly, but that was because they wanted to be popular and thought he was cool. 

Then the scruffy-haired black kid had walked into his class and his life changed forever.

Adam was different. For one, he had some major authority issues. If it wasn’t for the fact that he was utterly brilliant and useful to the Garrison, he would have been expelled long ago.

And for another, wherever Shiro went, he somehow noticed him. 

At lunch, when Adam would sit alone in the corner and Shiro would stare, flustered, as his friends teased him about his good grades and his sucking up to Iverson. 

In class, when Adam would always be the one to hand in tests first, when he would randomly get called on and know every answer, when his contributions changed the course of the discussion. 

In gym, when his finely toned muscles (did the kid work out at fifteen?) flexed and bounced as he ran, and Shiro just couldn’t suppress his hormonal instincts. 

Things really started the day Shiro sat with him at lunch and changed Adam’s life too. 

From then on what happened was inevitable. The two became inseparable, and they spent every minute together. Adam came to sit at Shiro’s lunch table. The two collaborated on every project. They worked out together in gym. At random points throughout the day, Shiro thought about Adam. (In the night, his thoughts changed, but their subject remained ever the same. Shiro would wake up embarrassed, with a hard-on he couldn’t ignore.)

So really, it was inevitable when, as juniors, they fell in love. 

The dream shifted, and Shiro opened his eyes into the Garrison doctor’s office. 

Ah, that fateful day. 

“I’m sorry, Cadet Shirogane. The test results have come back positive.” Shiro began to cry, thinking of the rush of terror at finding out he had the disease that killed his mother. 

The scene shifted again, and this time it was Shiro as a young, new professor. He was making a trip to Rock Bend, Arizona, to talk to students about the Garrison. When he presented the idea of a test, the students booed. But when he said it would be a video game, they all cheered. All except one. 

The boy sat in the back of the room. Long black hair framed his face, and his scowl was so deep it could cut a man. The boy looked vaguely like himself, Shiro thought. 

When the teacher introduced James Griffin, Shiro paid attention. When several students managed to get past level five, including a small blonde girl with freckles and a boy with olive-hued skin, he paid attention. But he paid more attention to the boy in the red jacket who was able to beat every level of the flight simulator. 

The session at the school came to a head when, after asking the teacher who the boy was and learning that he had discipline issues, Shiro walked outside to discover his missing car. The boy was nowhere to be found. 

At the juvie later that day, the most shocking thing of all: Shiro and the boy were related. 

Yeah. Related. Same father, apparently, a man named Dr. Akira Kogane, who traveled the world as an anthropologist. That explained a mystery that Shiro had been trying to solve. 

However, the boy was half … something else. So even though Shiro could technically claim legal guardianship, the state wanted to keep him in foster homes until he was old enough to go to another school. Shiro suggested the Garrison, and Keith agreed. 

The scene shifted again, to Shiro and Keith racing on their bikes. Shiro pulling off a dangerous maneuver, Keith laughing, Adam yelling at them both to be careful. For a while, they had been a neat little family, even with Shiro’s missions and Keith’s issues with school. 

Then it came to Shiro breaking the news to Keith that he had three years left to live. 

After that, Kerberos. 

Shiro sees the day flash before him, when Commander Holt made an ultimatum and Sanda agreed to consider. When Shiro announced this to Adam and he gave him a choice. When all parties involved cried so much they could drown. 

When everything fell apart.

The scene shifted again, and Shiro hoped that this terrible dream would end soon. 

_________

“What the fuck are we supposed to do now?” Pidge was small normally, but when shrunk she couldn’t be more than a few centimeters tall. 

“Language, young lady,” mocked Lance, yelping when Pidge hit him with her shrunken bayard. 

“Is this an adventure? I hate adventures!” Hunk was practically sobbing, and Romelle comforted him with a smile. 

“I hate adventures too, Hunk. It’s okay.” She screamed with a rather shrill tone when the ground began to shake beneath the present company. Coran let out an “ah-hah!” 

“Oh! I have an idea! Shrunk like this, we can hitch on to that Yalmor that’s coming and use the energy that it finds to return ourselves to normal size! Then we can collect that energy and use it to power the Lions!” Hunk started crying for real this time.

Many minutes later, they found themselves normal-sized and standing with several barrels of semi-quintessence outside the Black Lion.

“Finally we’re back. Let me check on Keith?” Lance’s uncertainty turned to confidence as Pidge gave him a smirk and a thumbs-up. He walked into the Black Lion to find … 

A room full of surprised, grim faces staring back at him. 

“Lance? You’re back. Are the others with you? Shiro is unstable and Allura isn’t able to help him and I don’t want to lose my brother-” Acxa put a hand on Keith’s shoulder with a grimace. 

The rest of the gang filtered in, looks of joy turning to that of terror as they saw Shiro’s state. Romelle rushed to Allura, who was exhausted from healing Shiro, and helped Krolia to prop her up. Allura muttered a thanks, and Romelle smiled softly. Hunk and Pidge rushed over to the box of Altean medical equipment, and Coran took a look at the healing pod. 

“It appears that his vitals are fluctuating …”

_________ 

Shiro opened his eyes again, but this time he was stuck in a pod. The Operation: Kuron chambers were anything but comfortable, and he struggled to breathe as he strained against his ties. Suddenly, there was Haggar, and slicing and blood and oh, so much blood … 

Shiro woke up with a gasp. He saw faces, worried faces. The Paladins? There were more people with them, though. What had happened? Where was his arm? What - 

Oh. 

The pod hissed open as Shiro sat up, tears and screams of joy filtering into his ears. Lance was smiling, Keith was hugging him, Pidge and Hunk were cheering, Krolia - how did he know that name - was smiling, two Galran women were leaning on each other, and Allura, Coran and another Altean were there … 

“What did I miss?”

Everyone laughed.


	3. The Road Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Acxa, Keith and Krolia have an important discussion.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is a little shorter, but the actual episode was short as well, and contained mostly filler. I tried to cut out that filler and this is what I got. 
> 
> Enjoy the Kogane family drama!

“Well, I’m … confused, to say the least. But I’m sure with time will come answers, and-” Shiro yawned mid-sentence, pausing the Paladins’ conversation. After he had woken up, the Paladins had introduced him to Acxa, Ezor, Zethrid, Krolia, and Romelle, and explained what had happened in their battle with Lotor and Allura’s attempts to save Shiro’s life. He recalled the dream he had, though not in detail, and was introduced to the notion that in addition to Keith, he had two Galran half-sisters and a stepmom-of-sorts. Krolia had immediately vowed to fill the role of the mother he’d never had, and he was grateful. However, he was exceedingly tired, and was beginning to drift off. 

“Before we sleep, we should discuss our plans. The journey back to Earth will take one and a half years.” Pidge looked up from her tablet. “It’s our best bet. We can regroup there and meet my dad, who has the plans for the Castle of Lions.” Everyone nodded in agreement, including the semi-conscious Shiro, who was petting Kosmo. 

“I think that’s a lovely idea, but it’s time we all get to bed.” Allura stood. 

“I’ll keep watch,” said Acxa. 

“We’ll stay with you,” said Keith. Krolia nodded, and Ezor moved closer to Acxa on the log they shared. 

Once everyone else was in their Lions, Krolia turned to Keith. “So you want the full story?” Keith nodded. Krolia began to speak. 

“Before I can tell you how I came to Earth, I must tell you what these marks mean.” She pointed rather gracefully to the slashed markings on her face. “When I was born, it was designated by fate that I would be the mother of the Kora, or the Galran messiah. Some feared the Kora and some worshipped her, so I was always treated with fear and forced respect. This was true even as I became Head Advisor for my brother Zarkon’s empire.” Keith gasped. 

“You and Zarkon were siblings?” Krolia nodded. 

“And for a long time, things were amazing. Voltron was formed, and I followed along on many of their adventures. However, when Zarkon reanimated and became the tyrant emperor of the Galra, I and the others dissented against his rule, claiming that it was better for him to accept death as it was offered to him. He refused, claiming that his unborn son Lotor needed him.”

“So Lotor was our cousin?” Keith’s shock was painted across his face with no screen to hide it. Krolia nodded, and Acxa sighed. 

“Lotor was unaware of the fact that he and I were cousins, and I dared not tell him for fear that I would be killed.” Acxa shuddered, recalling memories of her time as Lotor’s second-in-command, and Ezor held her hand tighter. 

“Lotor expected utmost trust from us, but never returned the favor,” she remarked. Kosmo curled up around Keith’s feet, having moved after Shiro so rudely stopped petting him. Krolia continued. 

“Nevertheless, Zarkon ordered me put in cryosleep, for I was too valuable to his rule to be killed. He saw it as a way of controlling when the Kora was brought about and who she would serve. So, there I lay for almost ten thousand years. 

“I woke up prematurely. I escaped with the aid of the Blade of Marmora, a group started by a close friend of mine. Marmora was the husband of the original Blue Paladin, and much like I, dissented against Zarkon. Instead of being killed, he ran and started a rebel order to rescue me and bring down Zarkon. However, he was long gone by the time I was able to be rescued. I pledged my life to their ranks, in eternal debt for their effort. 

“They sent me to Earth with the intention of keeping myself, and thus the Kora, far away from Zarkon. I suppose it helped that I was the best guardian they could think of for the Blue Lion. However, I crash-landed in the desert, out near where your father lived. He was an anthropologist, writing a book on his findings. He dropped everything and nursed me back to health, abandoning all rhyme or reason to create a life with me.” Krolia turned her head to Keith, who nodded for her to continue. 

“And we fell in love. Soon, you two were born. For two years Akira and I argued about what we were going to do, and whether or not we would take you back to space. But the birth of Soki changed all of that.”

“Is Soki …” Keith trailed off, realizing what his mother was about to say. 

“Soki is the Kora. She is one of the most powerful beings to exist in this universe, and she was the catalyst that brought the beginning of the end. 

“Zarkon had Honerva trained on the signal given by the Kora, and two weeks after Soki was born, they arrived on Earth. Just Zarkon, Honerva, Sendak and a squadron of soldiers. I could not fight them off. I struck a deal with Zarkon: me, Acxa and Soki in exchange for leaving you and your father alive. And he upheld that end of the deal, until we were about to leave. He struck down your father, set fire to the house, and left you at the end of our driveway to die. I don’t know how you were found or what happened, but you survived. And I was whisked away to a Galran work camp on Feyiv, where Zarkon promised that my children would be broken and turned into cogs in his machine.” Krolia sighed, burying her head in her hands. 

“I am sorry to both of you that I was not able to be the mother you required. I am sorry that the life I chose dragged you into this mess. I am sorry you could not settle down and live a life with someone you love and a dog.” Keith laughed at that. 

“Mom, you did the best you could.” Krolia smiled softly, moving to give her son a hug. 

“Yeah, and she hasn’t even told you how she raised me and Soki.” Acxa interjected, Ezor’s head resting lightly on her shoulder. “We were raised on Feyiv in a work camp. We weren’t the only ones who grew up that way, but I think we probably had the best education out of all of them. Mom taught us how to fight, how to hack, how to manipulate our way into getting what we needed. It wasn’t the most conventional, but it was home for us.” 

“It is true that I taught you and your sister how to fight. Though I must say the hacking was all your own.” Krolia beamed at her daughter, and Keith smiled at his family. _His family!_

“When I was sixteen and Soki was fourteen, the Galran soldiers at the camp staged it so that Mom, Soki and I would each think the other party was dead. Soki and I ran, with Soki going to the rings and me enlisting in the military. She fought for years, and then she disappeared. I don’t know where she is now.”

“We’ll find her,” said Keith. “I can’t wait to meet her.” 

The next morning, after Shiro and the others were informed of Krolia’s story, they packed up into the newly powered Lions to contact Soki and head back to Earth. Despite Pidge’s best efforts, the Voltron Coalition and many other allies were out of reach, so they were truly flying blind. 

“Okay! So, I’m going to take the liberty of assigning lions to everyone! Allura, Romelle, mice, you’re in Blue. I’ll take Kaltenecker and, uh, Coran in Red, Pidge will be in Green, Hunk and Zethrid will be in Yellow and Keith, Shiro, Acxa, Ezor, Krolia and Kosmo will be in Black, since she’s the largest.” Lance stood proudly in front of Red while he made this declaration, and Pidge and Hunk shrugged and trotted off to their assigned Lion. 

“Guess it’s a family trip,” muttered Keith.


	4. The Way Forward

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hunk wakes to the sound of sobbing in the cargo hold.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay, episode 3 rewrite! 
> 
> Boo, I have to now rewrite The Feud with like eight more characters than the original episode. 
> 
> My Hunk baby gets a chance to be an Upstanding Citizen.

Hunk awoke to the distinctive sound of sobbing. 

His first thought was that maybe Lance was watching Spanish soap operas again. 

His second thought consisted of something like this: oh yeah, Lance is in the Blue Lion. So who the heck is that?

His course of action: investigate. 

What he found was surprising. The third of Lotor’s generals, Zethrid, was shivering and crying in the cargo hold where she was supposed to be sleeping. In front of her was a projection of a young woman with catlike ears and no eyes. 

Narti. 

Acxa and Ezor had said that Lotor’s fourth general was Narti, a blind and mute half-Galra who had been Zethrid’s bondmate. 

Lotor had killed her in cold blood.

“Hey,” Hunk said. He crouched down next to Zethrid, who scowled.

“What do you want?” Hunk was surprised to find that Zethrid’s tone had a bite to it, and her face showed no mercy. He sat cross-legged next to where she had curled up.

“What’s going on? You look shivery.” Zethrid shook, convulsing in dry heaves, and Hunk reached for her forehead. 

“You’re burning up.”

“I have blood fever, of course I’m burning up!” Zethrid practically hissed out her words, then closed the projector. “My bondmate is dead, and my dreams are filled with her, and I’m suffering blood fever. So no, I’m not okay.” Hunk took a deep breath. What had his mom always told him? Break the problem up? 

“I think I can help with the fever.” Hunk stood, found his Advil, and passed it to Zethrid. “Take a few of those. That should bring the fever down.”

“I don’t understand. Why are you helping me?”

“Because you’re sick, tired, and grief-stricken. Also, you woke me up and I can’t go back to sleep.”

“Fair point, I suppose. You’re Hunk?” Zethrid dry-swallowed the pills and handed the bottle back to Hunk, who put it away. 

“Yup. Paladin, engineer, part-time chef. Now, tell me about your Narti.” Zethrid slumped down at the name, her hard outer shell cracking and breaking away as she started to cry. 

“She was the strongest person I’ve ever known. She had been through so much, done so much. She had such a quiet way of looking at the world, and her dream was to one day finally fit in somewhere. She was a half-breed Galra, you know. We all are. Acxa’s part human, Ezor’s part Daimathan, I’m part Jaino, Narti was part Atraxian...” Zethrid trailed off. 

“I’m going to go make you some tea. I’ll be right back.” Hunk got up to go to the galley, pulling up a holoscreen as he walked. Atraxian … where had he heard of that before?

Turns out, they were a quintessence-sensitive race possessing heightened senses, mind-control powers, telepathy and extreme agility. They also had a tendency to get trapped in the dreams of their bondmates. 

Well, that explained something. 

Hunk made his way back into the cargo hold with a large mug of tea for Zethrid. 

“So, I think I know why Narti is in your dreams, and I don’t think she’s dead.”

________

Zethrid was not sure how to react to this news. 

Her bondmate was dead. Gone, deceased, no more. Hell, she had the blood fever to prove it. 

She had watched Lotor kill Narti from far enough away that the pain hit her in shockwaves. 

But maybe it was possible. She had never asked Narti about her heritage because, well, Narti didn’t think about it. So Zethrid never pried, falling in love without knowing what Narti was. 

She supposed that was a mistake.

Perhaps Narti wasn’t dead. But how? And what did that make Lotor? 

It was too much to think about. 

Maybe if she slept, if she tried to talk to Narti, she could find out what was really going on. 

Maybe … no.

She couldn’t get her hopes up. 

But she could try to help her love.

________

 

The Paladins woke up to the sound of the most obnoxious alarm they had ever heard.

“Hey, why do we have to get up so early? We’re floating in space, it’s not like we have anything else to do,” whined Lance, rolling out of his bed with a loud thump. 

“I have to agree with Lance on this one,” said Allura. Romelle was already up, bustling about the Blue Lion and getting ready for the day. 

“Well, we have to take off at some point,” came Keith’s voice. “Some structure will stop us from becoming depressed or out of shape.”

“Routine is what kept me from falling into depression in the astral plane,” added Shiro from the Black Lion. It was the most crowded, but it still managed to fit the entire Kogane-Shirogane family and Keith’s six-hundred-pound space wolf comfortably.

“Our next course of action should be to contact Soki. All I need is a 7mm scaultrite disc and I can contact her.” Acxa’s fatigued voice rang out through the comm channel, waking up Ezor, who had forgotten to remove her comm while she slept.

“Mmph? What did I miss, love?” As soon as Ezor said this, a chorus of taunts from Pidge and Lance filled the comm channel. Acxa sighed. 

“Keith, chart a course for the nearest hub.”

________

 

Once they had resumed course from their stop at the hub, they sent out a communication to Soki. It read:

_14.27.90  
Kaisan Acxa _

“Soki will know,” claimed Acxa. “When we split up, we made a coding system. Kaisan is a type of ancient Galran coding, and the coded coordinates are for a small Blade outpost moon where we agreed to meet should we need to communicate. Mom, you should probably contact the Blade to let them know we’ll be arriving.”

“I tried. None of my Blade contacts are responding. Either my communication device is not working or … I do not want to think of the possibilities.” Krolia sighed. “We will be flying in blind. Hopefully the outpost is not occupied by a faction.” Her tone of voice was solemn, thinking of her daughter.

“Ooh, don’t say that,” moaned Lance. “I don’t want to die today.”

“Really, Lance? With the way you fly, I would think you had a death wish.” Keith’s snarky comment caused Lance to utter a rather trite “Fuck you, Kogane” under his breath. 

________

When they landed, they found no signs of life. 

“This is … bad,” grimaced Ezor, drawing her photon blade. 

“No shit, pink lady,” muttered Lance, whose bayard took sniper form. Ezor laughed, a long, low sound. 

“Alright, team. We split up into two groups with two and three paladins each: Acxa, Ezor, Keith and Kosmo, Lance, and Krolia are with me. Hunk, Pidge, Coran, Allura, Romelle, Zethrid, you form another group. We’ll go left, you go right.” Shiro’s orders seemed to satisfy everyone, and they went their separate ways. 

Eventually, both groups discovered, the paths led to the same location: a strange portal situated in the center of the old command hub. As they convened, they all marveled at the strange surface of the glowing convex shape. 

“What the fuck is that?” Pidge stood, arms crossed, bayard in its new extra pointy form. The Paladins and crew were gathered around the portal, helmets off due to the base’s miraculously functioning filtration system. 

“Language, Pidge.” Shiro scolded playfully as Acxa began to probe the portal with a long polearm. Though she war careful, she must have activated something as the portal began to glow. 

“Oh no. Why am I not surprised?” 

“Lance, not the time.” Shiro and Keith jumped into fighting stances, then grabbed the wall as the gravity of the room began to change. 

The Paladins realized too late that the gravity was too much and then the group was pulled into the rapidly growing mass of the portal. 

________

Soki received the communication at five in the morning on the planet Gamin. 

She was tired, achy and fresh off the anger of her last commission. She had been hired to steal a power core from an operating plant for a hundred thousand gac, and the scumbags hadn’t paid. 

And now, a communication from her sister. 

How the fuck was she supposed to deal with that? 

Well, fine. She loaded up her stolen fighter and lifted out of orbit, making her way to the Blade base that Acxa had indicated. 

She had no idea what she would find.


	5. The Feud (or We Actually Treat Lance Right)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Paladins and company find themselves on the show Garfle Warfle Snick.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I headcanon that Romelle was a mechanic on the Colony. (She and Hunk can bond over having to fix everyone else's shit.) 
> 
> This episode was annoying to rewrite because I had to figure out away to cut out fluff and include six more characters. 
> 
> Here you go!

“Welcome folks! Tonight on Garfle Warfle Snick, we have some very special guests! Please welcome the Paladins of Voltron and their companions!”

“What the fuck?” Lance muttered, blinking to adjust to the bright lights and flashy colors of the space he was in. The last thing he remembered was the portal sucking them all in … 

Oh shit.

“Is this an alternate dimension?” Pidge’s whisper traveled to Lance, and he shrugged. Hunk and Allura were looking at each other in confusion. 

The Paladins were behind podiums, feet bound to platforms and helmets removed. Behind them was a wall with decorative lighting, similar to a Family Feud set. A large sign took up most of the back wall, with paisley-esque letters in multiple colors spelling out an alien language. 

Romelle, Acxa, Ezor, Shiro, Krolia, Coran and Zethrid were sitting in a talk show seating area between the Paladin’s podiums and the podiums for another team, and a small alien in a floating chair whizzed around the room a few times before coming to a stop in front of the Paladins. 

“I’m your host, Bob! Now, we all remember the rules of the game, but in case you’re new, let me state them again! If the Paladins win, they will be released from the show and able to return to their normal lives!” The audience cheered. “If they lose, however, they will be forced to stay here for eternity.” The audience booed at that. 

“Eternity? But we have things to do!” Hunk’s remark caused the audience to burst into laughter. The Paladins’ friends made nervous laughter from the seating area, and Bob came to rest next to them. 

“Now, here we have the companions of the Paladins! Acxa and Ezor, two lovers who are set to do great things. Acxa and Keith’s mother, Krolia, who is an excellent fighter! Shiro, the Champion and a brilliant leader. Coran, Altean Royal Advisor and mustache connoisseur! Zethrid, the strongest woman in the universe. And Romelle, a small mechanic with a big heart.” Romelle growled at being called small, struggling to free her feet from their bonds. 

“Now, Paladins, why don’t you tell us a little bit about yourselves?” Bob swiveled around in the air and moved over to the podiums. Keith could see the others conversing softly about what was actually going on, and he wished he could hear them.

“You first, pretty lady!” Allura let out an irritated sigh. 

“My name is Princess Allura of Altea. Do not refer to me in such a manner.” 

“Oof, feisty one!” Bob smiled, and the audience laughed. _Stupid misogynistic species,_ Allura thought. 

“And you, lover boy!” Bob made finger guns in Lance’s general direction and he could feel himself cringe. 

“Name’s Lance Serrano-McClain, and I’m just a boy from Cuba.” Lance knew his answer was the right amount of information when Keith gave him a thumbs up from down the line.

“And you, little one?” The audience once again laughed, and Pidge found herself beginning to hate that sound. 

“First of all, I’m almost seventeen. Second of all, you can call me Pidge. And I’m not that little! I’m taller than yo-” Bob cut her off with a hand over her mouth, then moved to Hunk.

“What about you, big guy?” Hunk shuddered at the name. 

“My name is Hunk Garrett, and I’m an engineer. Also, what exactly is going on here?”

“Tell him, audience! It’s …”

“GARFLE WARFLE SNICK!” The audience’s roar was deafening. 

“Now that we’ve got that clarified, what about you, emo boy?”

“Keith Kogane. I’m not that emo.” That said, with arms crossed and bangs falling in his face, he looked like a moody seventeen-year-old. Keith felt his mother and sister laughing at his claim.

“Yes you are,” muttered Lance under his breath. 

“I heard that!”

“Alright! So, now that we’ve met the crew, it’s time to play …”

“GARFLE WARFLE SNICK!”

“Our first game is called _Picturary_! We will have one Paladin come up and draw the words we put on the screen. If their companions can guess correctly, they get a point! If they cannot, they will lose a point! Keith, young sir, are you an artist?” Bob held a microphone (where had that come from?) up to Keith’s mouth.

“Uh … I guess?” In reality, Keith was. However, like all artists, he was unsure of his talent and thus dismissed his involvement. 

“Great!” Suddenly, Keith found himself on another podium with his hair tied back and a gag over his mouth. 

“Mmmph!” He let out a cry on indignance as a pen was placed into his hand.

“Alright! Here’s our first word!” Bob gestured to the audience, clearly pointing to something the Paladins couldn’t see. Keith began to furiously scribble, pen marks taking the shape of a knife on the board. 

“Ooh! Uh … knife!” Hunk called out, and Acxa and Krolia shook their heads from where they and the others were sitting, perched on the edge of their seats. 

“Blade! Blade of Marmora!” Allura cried, and a loud ding echoed around the room. The audience cheered with all the force of several stampeding elephants. Romelle gave a thumbs up, and Lance reached for a high-five. 

“Next word, folks!” Bob once again gestured to the audience, and Keith began to scribble once more. The marks began to take the shape of a hooded figure, but for some reason the figure was still indistinguishable. The Paladins took so long to respond that the time was almost up, and Lance frantically called out the first thing that came to his mind. 

“Windy cave!” The timer buzzed, and the audience groaned. 

“Sorry, Paladins, it is not a windy cave.” Allura and Hunk slapped their foreheads, and Pidge collapsed onto the podium with a groan. Shiro gave Lance a thumbs up, however, and mouthed “good job”. 

“Since you didn’t get it right, let’s bring out the opposing team, shall we?” The Paladins all looked around in confusion, and their companions strained to see behind the set walls. 

“Introducing … the Galra Empire!” The audience cheered, rather loudly, and began to stomp their feet as several silhouettes came out from behind the wall. 

“Now, we couldn’t get the real thing, but I’d say we have some pretty convincing stand-ins! Give it a round for Zarkon, Haggar, Lotor, and Sendak!” 

“WHAT?!” Lance’s indignant squawk echoed through the room. “But they’re dead!” The audience gasped. 

“Yes, well, none of this is real, so we can take some creative liberties. Now Zarkon, what might our Paladin friend have been drawing?”

“Well, Bob, I have to say that that looks like my dear wife Haggar. Sorry darling, he did a terrible job of representing your likeness.” 

“Haggar” crossed her arms with a sigh, and not-Lotor snickered. Acxa, Ezor and Zethrid shuddered at the thought of their former commander back from the dead. Keith, atop the podium, made noises of exasperation, and Bob released him back to his normal spot. 

“Alright! Thank you, not-Galra, for providing the answer to that puzzling question.” Suddenly, the figures of the opposing team all disappeared, and a large tank with brown liquid inside materialized in its place.

“Now, it’s time to play _Faces from the Past_! Lance, why don’t you come on up.”

Lance promptly appeared in front of a large board, where a timer was displayed. 

“The object of this game is to name as many people as you can from the lineup of those you’ve met over the years. Lance, I chose you because you’re obviously a people person, so this shouldn’t be too hard!” Bob chuckled, pressing a button on his chair. “You have ten seconds for each person, starting now!”

The first picture was Plaxum, the mermaid Lance and Hunk had met on Luxia’s planet.

“Oh, uh, Plaxum! I flirted with her.” Keith stuttered at this, and Pidge slapped him.

“Correct! Next face.” Bob pressed the button again, and this time a picture of Shay showed up.

“That’s Shay. She’s Hunk’s girlfriend.” The audience cooed, and a pink heart appeared over Hunk’s head, then popped. 

“Hey man, could you, uh, not do that again?” Lance shrugged and whispered ‘sorry’, and Hunk nodded. After that, the faces whizzed by. Next was Ryner (“the old lady Pidge made friends with”), then Acxa (“Keith’s terrifying sister”), who grimaced at her face being up on the screen.

Then it was a Galran girl with half a shaved head, broken horns, and marks like Krolia’s. 

“Uh … I don’t know her.” Lance shrugged, and Acxa and Krolia mouthed something to him. Keith seemed to be trying to spell something out with his hands, but Lance couldn’t tell what. 

“Some of you have met her,” smirked Bob, spinning around in his chair. “Three … two … one!” A timer buzzed, and the audience groaned again. “So sorry, Lance. It’s time for you to take a dip in our acid bath as punishment!”

“WHAT.” Lance’s face looked like he had just walked in on his parents having sex. 

“Oh, don’t worry, it takes several hours to kill you. If your friends can finish the next game in time, you will be perfectly safe!” Bob snapped his fingers, and suddenly Lance was in the tank. However, his Paladin armor seemed to protect him from any harm, and everyone let out a sigh of relief. 

“Now, which one of you is the brains of the group?” All present, including their companions, pointed to Pidge. 

“Alright, Pidge. It’s time for one of your Earth games! Let’s hope you’re good at mini-golf!”

Pidge was dragged over to a small mini-golf course, where she promptly began plotting her trajectory. Just as she swung, she dove for the camera, possibly to extort Bob into letting them go. 

Instead, Bob shrieked, teleporting Pidge back to her podium, where Allura gave her a dirty look.

“Alright, then! Since you’re all so eager to leave, it’s time for our last game. I call this one-” Bob signaled for Lance to be moved back to his podium - “- _Escapism_!” The audience cheered really loudly this time, so clearly this game was a fan favorite. The walls changed colors several times, and Bob spun around in his chair. 

“Now, if you can all vote on the same person, I’ll let that person out of our little world. However, if you do not, you all stay here for eternity!” Their companions suddenly all sat up in their seats. 

“You have thirty seconds to write down who you think should get to leave. Go!”

The soft sound of scribbling filled the room, as a Jeopardy-style melody played in the background. Lance looked up and saw that their companions were all whispering amongst themselves, wondering what to do next. 

“Time’s up! Allura, who did you pick?” Suddenly, all of the podiums had screens, and Allura's displayed a picture of Pidge.

“I picked Pidge. She’s incredibly smart, and will likely have the best plan to rescue us once released.” Her tone had a bite to it that made the others smile. 

“What about you, Hunk?” The screen in front of his podium changed to a picture of Allura. 

“I picked Allura, because she’s an alien princess and she has magic. Also, she’s really good at everything.”

“Okay, and what about you, Pidge?”

“Hunk. He’s used to dealing with problems and if anyone can get a team together, it’s him.”

“Lance? What about you?” Bob snickered, as if he knew what Lance was about to say. 

“I chose Keith. He’s our leader, plus he’s half Galra, so I think he’s like, the future.” Lance’s dreamy expression was interrupted by Bob moving on to Keith. Acxa and Ezor shared a glance. 

“And Keith?” Before Keith could answer, the screen in front of him changed to Lance’s face. “Lance? Why Lance?” Keith looked really surprised at the question, and Bob was so focused it looked as if he were reading Keith’s thoughts. 

“Uhhh … I just don’t want to be stuck here for eternity with Lance.” Keith’s surprised expression disappeared, and he crossed his arms. The audience gasped as Bob gestured to something the Paladins couldn’t see. 

“Aw, thanks buddy. Wait, what?!” Bob chuckled, then let out a sigh. 

“Well this is interesting. Never before in my hundred thousand years of omniscient living have I ever seen something like this. Congratulations, Paladins! You’ve passed the test!”

“What?” Five voices, plus some from their companions, rang out in unison.

“The test ,” Bob paused dramatically, “was to see if you all cared about each other. You all chose each other, and so you and your companions all get to leave!” The walls changed color a few times again, and confetti began to rain from the ceiling. 

Everyone cheered, and then as suddenly as they had arrived, they were back in the control room. 

“So that’s who Bob is,” muttered Coran.

“Why, do you know that jerk?” Lance sat, rubbing his shoulder from where he had fallen back through the portal. 

“Heard legends about him. None of them told me he was so annoying, however.” Coran chuckled, and Allura and Ezor joined in. Everyone else slumped or sat along the concave walls of the room. 

“Well, fuck this,” said Lance, leaning against the wall. “I’m taking a goddamn nap.”


	6. Reunion and Departure

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A family reunion and a distress signal.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this chapter took so long to post. I've been working on some personal projects of mine, and just didn't have the inspiration to slog through this chapter. 
> 
> Anyways, here's Soki's proper introduction. I've tried my best to make her a balanced character, so I hope you like her interactions. 
> 
> Enjoy!

“Hey, Keith! Wake up!” 

Keith awoke to the sound of Lance’s panicked voice. It wasn’t a sound he minded, but in the context it caused him to bolt upright, blades in hand. 

“I couldn’t sleep, probably cause I took a nap earlier, and I noticed something on Pidge’s scanners. A heat signature just entered the base, and I’m not entirely sure we can get a read on it. I want to say it’s your sister, but I can’t be sure.” Lance’s expression was entirely serious, and Keith bit back his instinctual snide remark. 

“Alright. Wake up everyone else. I’ll check the scanners.” Keith said. Lance made the rounds, gently waking up some and jerking others awake with a shove. Keith was surprised Lance didn’t get shot by Acxa or Zethrid. 

“Mmph? Why’re we up?” Hunk yawned into his glove, helping Allura to her feet. 

“Pidge’s sensors picked up a figure moving through the base. It could be Soki, but we have to be prepared for anyone.” Krolia nodded in agreement, and Acxa readied her Marmoran blade. 

“Alright. They’re going to be here in three … two … one!” Pidge yelled, just as the doors opened with a dramatic hiss. Suddenly, a cloaked figure burst through the door, Marmoran blade in one hand and gun in the other. The figure’s first shot hit the wall, but just by a fraction. Keith drew his shield and rushed in front of Lance, who aimed his rifle at the figure and shot. The figure shot back, and one hit Hunk, ricocheting off of his armor and hitting Romelle’s boots. Pidge leapt forward, intercepting the figure’s blade with her glowing green bayard. The two struggled for a minute, sparks flying, as the figure fired shots that zipped around the room, hitting various targets. Zethrid’s left ear got hit, and she hissed in pain before jumping to cover Coran from another blast. 

Suddenly, Ezor uncloaked herself behind the figure, who was promptly put into a headlock. Realizing they were surrounded, the figure dropped their weapons and held up their hands. 

Ezor, Acxa and Krolia stepped next to Keith, and the figure removed their - her - cloak. 

“Mom? Acxa?” Into the light stepped a Galran girl, the same one that Lance had first seen during Faces From the Past. Her skin was a light purple, with the same slashed marks that Krolia had gracing her strong cheekbones. Her sclerae were yellow and her eyes were the same color as Keith and Acxa’s. A nasty scar covered one side of her scalp and encircled her two broken horns. 

“Soki? It is you!” Krolia rushed forward and pulled her daughter into a hug. Acxa joined in, and Shiro and Keith stepped forward to complete the family. For a moment all the others could do was stand there as waves of emotion rattled through the empty halls. Finally, Soki pulled back, stepping next to where the other Paladins were gathered. 

“Mom, Acxa … I missed you. Where have you been? And who are they?” Soki pointed with a long, gloved finger to Shiro and Keith. 

“This is Keith, and that’s Shiro. Your brothers.” Soki gaped in awe, sputtering as if she was trying to find the right words. 

“What? How?”

“I promise I will explain. Soki, there is a lot to say…” Krolia continued talking, beginning to move to one corner of the room. Acxa, Ezor, Shiro and Keith quickly gathered in the corner, ready to help Krolia. Soki followed her mother, and the other Paladins could hear the faint sounds of the same explanation they had received earlier. 

________

After Krolia finished catching Soki up, the Paladins and company packed up their little overnight camp. At first, Keith wanted Soki to ride in the Black Lion, but it was too crowded, so she volunteered to ride with Pidge.

Pidge was all too keen on the idea, which led to her accidentally breaking a part of her tablet’s solar charger, delaying their liftoff by a good half a varga. When they finally departed from the abandoned Marmoran base, Allura immediately began pestering Soki with a series of questions about her Kora position. Soki could not answer some, but others she was able to respond to with ease. 

“So, Soki! Might I ask what your powers consist of?” Allura asked, and Pidge and Lance perked up at this, suddenly very interested. 

“I … guess.” Soki had taken to sitting in the cockpit of the Green Lion, towards Pidge’s left. She began polishing her blade, having finished cleaning her gun a few minutes prior. “My powers are directly related to the antithesis, or the opposite of quintessence. The darkness, death, decay … I can control all of that.”

“Fascinating! Your powers seem to be a direct opposite to my Altean alchemy. I would love to work with you in the lab sometime to develop new technology!” Allura’s cheery voice exclaimed through the static-plagued comms. Soki smiled, but it was almost pained. 

She moved back to polishing her blade. 

“Hey guys, didn’t you say you couldn’t get in contact with the Blade earlier?” Pidge checked her scanners once more as confirmation came from Krolia. “Okay, cause I seem to be getting a signal from a senior Blade member.” 

“What?” Keith replied, at the same time Krolia responded with “Who?”

“Uh … no specific signal, but I can pick up on some signals from the actual blades of other members. Maybe … six or seven?” Pidge began to recalibrate the scanners, and by this point Soki had gotten up from her position to take a look. 

“This doesn’t feel right,” remarked Soki. Acxa stood from where she and Ezor had been sitting in the Black Lion.

“Keith, we should set a course for that planet. We need to check this out, especially because there has been no Blade contact so far.” 

With everyone in agreement, the Paladins charted a course for the nearby planet.

________

“What happened here?” Romelle’s voice broke the unsteady silence that had settled over the group. When they had landed, the Paladins had realized that this planet was a shell of its former self. Ancient Galran structures littered their landing site, and scavenger rats scurried around the piles of decay. 

“I don’t know, but the signal seems to be coming from the building at nine o’ clock,” remarked Ezor, taking a quick glance at Pidge’s portable holoscreen. 

“Everyone, draw your weapons. We need to be ready for anything.” Keith’s advice echoed through the group, and as they made their way inside all weapons were drawn. Even Romelle had borrowed an old staff of Allura’s, and she held it with an air of confidence as she walked forward. 

Despite all of the buildup, the only thing the Paladins found when they went inside was a single masked alien, who introduced himself as Macidus, the last remaining Blade.

“I welcome you, Paladins, to the planet I have called home for the last few phoebs. I apologize for my needing to be rescued, however, I am running low on supplies and needed to send out a signal.”

“It’s quite all right,” chimed Allura from where she sat on the log. “Would you please tell us what happened here?” 

“Yes, of course. After Lotor disappeared, the Empire began to fracture into factions. One such faction was the Fire of Purification, Sendak’s army. But another, more dangerous faction was Haggar’s army of Druids.” Macidus paused to take notice of the fact that Soki grimaced at the word. “Young Kora, why do you look so upset?”

“I - I don’t know.” The question had caught Soki off guard, and the other alien could tell. Acxa looked at her sister with an air of concern, then turned back to face Macidus. 

“Please, Macidus, continue.” Her tone had a bite to it, but luckily the alien did not seem to care. 

“The Druids chased the Blades to this planet, where a battle of epic proportions took place. However, I was the only survivor.” Though Macidus’ face could not be read, it was clear to the Paladins and company that he was lying through his teeth. So it came as no surprise when, a few minutes later, Macidus made several cryptic remarks indicating that he knew Keith. 

“I see your hand has healed, young Paladin,” came the first. 

That proved to be too much for the leader of Voltron, who stood up.

“Who are you really?”

“Keith, sit down-” Shiro tried in vain, but Macidus cut him off by standing and drawing his blade. The Paladins responded by wielding their various weapons, and Macidus chuckled. 

“I see my ruse has been lost on you clever Paladins. I’m afraid I may have exaggerated the story a little bit. There were two survivors: Kolivan and I, the Druid Macidus.” Macidus cast his helmet away, revealing a scarred and broken Galran face with the markings of a Druid. 

Suddenly, Kosmo growled. Keith clenched his wolf’s fur tighter, and the pair disappeared. The rest of the team found themselves frozen in place, and Macidus cackled, only to disappear after Keith. 

________

At about the same time, Keith found himself alone with his wolf in the tunnels under Macidus’ cave. He inhaled, shaking, and steeled himself for a fight. He had matched Macidus once before, and now he was stronger and better. 

However, Macidus still managed to catch Keith off guard. He appeared from around the corner, energy blasts firing at Keith, with the Paladin barely able to dodge the Druid’s attacks. 

Once more, Keith managed to grab onto Kosmo’s fur, and the two suddenly found themselves down the tunnel, safe from Macidus’ energy blasts. Keith stepped back out into the line of fire for a second, trying to see what exactly Macidus was doing. Then, all of a sudden, Macidus was there, and there were six illusionary figures surrounding Keith. 

He slashed through the first illusion with his blade, and used his sword to decimate two others. Black liquid dripped off the end of his blades and pooled in dips on the tunnel floor. Then, as suddenly as they had appeared, the illusions dissipated, and it was just Macidus, wielding a gun.

“Oh fuck no,” muttered Keith, who charged towards Macidus, shield up, with Kosmo at his side.

________

Allura managed to break Macidus’ spell at the same moment that someone screamed. 

Acxa and Ezor ran first, calling for the others to follow. The group raced down the long tunnel leading to the scream, weapons in hand. 

By the time they reached the entrance to the tunnel where Keith had fought Macidus, the Druid was dead. Macidus was ruined, bloody and slashed clean through, and laying in a corner in a large pool of blood. 

“Keith?” Soki’s voice echoed, shakily, through the long corridor as she and the others caught up to him. The former Red Paladin was kneeling over a body, Kosmo next to him. 

“Is that …” Acxa began to say, at the same time Krolia said “Kolivan!” Keith’s family immediately rushed towards the fallen Blade leader, who began to stir. Allura placed her hands above him to steady his quintessence, and Romelle propped him up on a crate. 

Soki, meanwhile, began to take care of the body. 

A few minutes later, when Kolivan was restored to his full health, Pidge walked over to Soki, clearly intrigued by what she was doing. 

“Hey Soki, whatcha up to?” Pidge stood rather awkwardly, not entirely sure what to do with her hands.

“Proper burial rites.” 

“He’s a Druid, right? Does he even deserve those?”

“I don’t know. I don’t know anything anymore.” Soki paused to wipe some dirt off of her face. “First I get a call from my sister, who I thought was dead, then it turns out my dead mom and brother are actually alive. Apparently my brother leads Voltron, and I have a human half-brother. Also, you’re all trying to help me and now I’m part of this big grand plan that I never agreed to. It’s a little much, if you catch my drift.” She finished wrapping the body, then stepped back. Pidge followed, and soon the two were standing over a gently glowing black blaze, courtesy of Soki’s magic. 

“I’ve found that, out here in space, everyone has a tragic backstory. I can’t help but feel incredibly lucky that I grew up on Earth, and maybe when we get back I can show you some of the stuff I like to do?” Pidge realized she was rambling, but Soki smiled. It was soft, but it was there.

“I sincerely hope we don’t die before we get there,” she remarked, turning to join Keith and the others where Kolivan now stood.

“I am deeply sorry, Paladins and friends, that I needed to be rescued. The Druid Macidus lured me here with the signal from my fallen fellow Blades. However, now that I am rescued, I will need help in rebuilding the Blade.”

“That is why I will be taking a detour with Kolivan and meeting you with the rebuilt Blade on Earth.” Krolia chimes in, and all of the Koganes turned their heads.

“But Mom, we were just reunited!” Keith protested.

“How could we depart so quickly?” Acxa questioned. 

“Mom … we will miss you.” Soki sighed, stepping forward. “I think what Acxa and Keith are saying is that we support your decision and we will be happy to see you once we both arrive on Earth.” Acxa sighed, then nodded. Keith uncrossed his arms and stepped forward. Shiro walked over from a short distance away, where he had been listening with intent. 

“Krolia: as your family, we all are in favor of your decision, despite the fact that we will greatly miss your presence.” Shiro finished his statement, and the entire Kogane-Shirogane family was promptly pulled into a group hug from Krolia. 

“I love you. I love you all so much.” The rest of the Paladins watched with a mixture of happiness for the family and homesickness of their own. 

________

Soki would never forget the day that her mother left for a second time. However, this time, she promised herself that she would be strong. And now, unlike before, she had her family and her newfound friends to rely on when things inevitably went wrong. 

Because, sadly, they always did.


	7. The Journey Within

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Paladins and Soki get stranded.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter also took a long time because I had no problem with the original episode. 
> 
> Enjoy the pining mess!

Out of all the things Lance loved about space, floating aimlessly was not one of them. 

He liked the chase, the adrenaline of being part of a team and knowing that your friends had your back. The rush of knowing that Keith was beside him, egging him on. 

God, Lance missed that.

They had departed from Kolivan and Krolia a month and a half prior, and the trip had gotten no less boring. The only things that kept Lance from jumping out of the airlock were Hunk’s cooking and the company of his closest friends. The schedule was kept strict, the allowed activities stricter, as they had to fly under the radar and keep from being noticed. Every morning they would wake up to Shiro and Keith calling orders. It was too much like the Garrison for Lance’s comfort. 

What Lance did like about the whole ordeal was that he got a different person in his Lion every three days. It was supposed to stop them from getting on each other’s cases, and so far it was working. 

Today, Lance had Acxa and Ezor in the Red Lion with him. Soki and Zethrid were in Green, Shiro was in Blue, and Romelle and Coran were in Black. The animals were all holed up in Yellow. Thanks to Kosmo, they could switch at any time, but Lance was comfortable with today’s arrangement. 

Maybe it was because being close to Keith’s family made him feel closer to Keith. 

He liked making conversation with Acxa, and he found out that he and Ezor had a lot in common. Both had wanted to be pilots, and both had ended up as a part of something much bigger. Ezor liked the rain better than clear skies, and Lance couldn’t help but agree. He filled Acxa in on what had happened on earth since her time there as a child, and watched as Ezor gaped in awe at the pictures Lance showed her of his home. Most of all, he liked watching their playful banter and flirtatious jokes towards each other. 

Lance couldn’t help but feel jealous that Ezor and Acxa were so in love. 

________

“Does anyone have any idea of how to power the Lions?” Keith’s question rang through their shared comms as he gently steered Black around an asteroid. 

“I’ve been talking with the Princess,” started Shiro, “and I think I know how you paladins can do it. You need to become a fully realized team in order to connect to their energy and repower them.”

The comms went silent. 

“How would we do that?” asked Lance, doing a flip around a different asteroid and earning a “don’t fucking do that” from Acxa. Keith smirked. He liked watching his sister and his lo… Scratch that thought.

Keith snapped back to reality and tuned in, realizing that he completely missed Shiro’s ideas. 

Then, without a warning, a huge blast of light flashed in everyone’s eyes, and the comms went silent. 

Keith began to register, a few minutes later, that Lance was calling out to him.

“L-lance?” he stammered, pulling himself to his feet. He quickly realized that he was floating in zero-G, and his passengers were definitely unconscious. Romelle and Coran floated behind him, peaceful and definitely alive. “Sound off, everyone.”

“Lance here, are you okay?” Keith made a noise of agreement. 

“Hunk, alive and absolutely terrified.” Hunk’s voice shook, reflecting just how scared he actually was. 

“Pidge alive,” called the youngest Paladin. 

“Allura here, is everyone alright?” Keith could hear the Princess moving around her cockpit through the comms. 

“Soki here. I’m still reading heart rates from your passengers, so none of them are dead.”

“That’s good. Are your passengers unconscious as well?”

Keith received a chorus of “yes” from the other Paladins. 

“Okay, let’s tether the lions together. Soki, we’ll need your help. Everyone, grab your tethers from the emergency bays of your Lions.”

A few minutes later, all of the Paladins were out of their Lions and beginning to attach the tethers. However, the universe had other plans, as the Paladins were quickly hit by another light blast. 

This time, they were hurled away from their Lions and barely managed to hold on to each other. 

Someone screamed. 

________

Several hours passed, and the Paladins tried to make conversation. 

“So, guys, we have to figure out a way to get back, right? Does anyone have any navigational methods? Pidge?” Lance turned his head to Pidge, tugging Keith slightly closer to him. 

“I’m trying to get a signal, but without the Lions we are completely and utterly lost. And we don’t have any way of communication, because our allies are passed out. So until they wake up and track us, we’re stuck.” Hunk sulked a little bit at this news, and Allura sighed. 

“Did anyone get visual on Romelle before we were torn away?” Allura asked, worried tone evident.

“Yeah, she was passed out but safe in the cockpit of Black. Why?” Keith responded, turning his head and pulling Lance towards him. 

Before Allura could respond, Lance lashed out at Keith and cursed.

“Stop fucking doing that, Keith! It’s so goddamn annoying!” He let go of Keith’s hand, but due to a lack of propulsion he went nowhere.

“What? What am I doing?” Keith asked, feigning genuinity. 

“You know what you’re doing! God, you’re always getting on my nerves.”

“Keith, Lance, stop it. This is not good for any of us.” Allura tried to be a balm to the situation, but her tactics fell just a little short for Lance and Keith. 

“Us? What us? Are we really even friends? Is there anything holding us together besides some messed up series of coincidences? I mean, what are we? Some chosen saviors? Do you really believe that? What are we even doing out here?” Keith was beginning to panic now, words tumbling out of his mouth like a waterfall that he couldn’t control. 

“Lance, Keith, everyone, stop!” Hunk yelled, quieting everyone down. Everyone fell silent. 

________

After another indeterminate period of floating, someone screamed again.

This time, it was Soki, who began to convulse so violently that the group had to huddle in closer to stop her from thrashing. 

“Fire … I see fire …” Soki convulsed, once, twice, then stopped and collapsed into her brother’s arms. 

“Soki!” Pidge exclaimed, trying to get across the circle to comfort her friend. 

“Stop it, Pidge!” Keith yelled, and Pidge began to cry, shaking and filling her helmet with tears. 

“Guys, come on!” came Hunk’s voice, holding Pidge in a tight embrace to calm her panic.

“Look, guys, I understand what’s happening here. You’re all brave heroes who don’t know how to react to being scared, and it’s causing you to attack one another. That or you’re all going space mad. Hopefully, you’re just scared. I’m scared all the time. I can talk you through it.” With Hunk’s perfectly chosen words, everyone calmed, and Pidge stopped crying. Soki took a deep breath and gave a thumbs up to indicate that she was okay. 

“Look!” cried Lance, pointing behind Hunk, who turned. “It’s Earth!”

“No, no, this can’t be,” muttered Soki. “We’re still thousands of light-years away from home. We can’t be here.”

“Soki’s right, you guys! This isn’t Earth,” explained Hunk, but it was too late, and the Paladins were already propelling themselves towards what was supposedly their home. Hunk growled, and with the last of his strength, summoned his bayard and shot through the illusion, which shattered.

All of the Paladins gasped. 

“Oh my god,” yelled Keith. 

“What is that thing?” Lance summoned his bayard and took a sniper’s aim at the large space manta ray. 

“It’s a Vociferan,” explained Allura. “They’re a major problem for traveling caravans because they create massive illusions to draw their victims in. We fell for its illusion!”

“It’s okay, guys! Summon your strength. We’re going to get through this!” Keith’s battle cry roused the other Paladins, who summoned their bayards.

“I’m sorry I said those hurtful things earlier. I was wrong. This series of messed up coincidences did happen for a reason. They brought us together as paladins. But more importantly…they brought us together as friends.” Keith finished speaking and squeezed the hands of the other Paladins. Just as suddenly as the Vociferan had appeared, so did their Lions, and within an instant they were able to form Voltron.  
“Lance, insert your Bayard!” yelled Keith, doing the same. Suddenly, Voltron had a set of massive boosters, and with them activated the Paladins were able to escape the Vociferan. 

Taking a breath, the Paladins de-formed Voltron, realizing that their passengers had awoken from their slumber.  
________

After a few hours, and once the others had been caught up to speed, Pidge noticed something. 

“Guys, look! It’s the Milky Way!”

And, truly, it was. 

They were finally home.


	8. The Last Stand: an update

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just an update.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! So sorry for the long wait between chapters. I promise that the next chapter will be up soon. I’ve been working on some personal projects, and with finals, that’s all I’ve had time for. 
> 
> About this chapter: I literally could not find anything about this episode that needed to be changed. So for now, just stay put and hold on for the next chapter, which actually has something that I changed.

Stay put for next time!


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